Kenyan police have arrested a prime suspect in the murder of a British businessman as they continue their hunt for two accomplices.
The suspect, who was arrested Sunday in Mombasa, is said to have been hiding in the town since the murder of Scott Campbell, 58, last month.
Police apprehended the suspect, flushing him out of his hideout before transporting him to Nairobi, where he is expected to appear at Milimani Court today as police seek an extension to detain him while investigations continue.
Authorities are now pursuing at least two more accomplices linked to Scott’s kidnapping and murder, who are believed to be hiding in either Nairobi or Mombasa.
Homicide detectives have described Sunday’s arrest as a major breakthrough in the investigation, however, the motive behind Scott’s murder remains unclear.
Kenya’s Director of Criminal Investigations, Mohamed Amin, confirmed the suspect’s arrest, stating: ‘We have a prime suspect in the murder of Scott. The hunt for more suspects is ongoing. We hope to get more suspects involved in this callous murder.’
Scott, who had been staying at a Nairobi hotel after travelling to the Kenyan capital to attend a conference, was last seen on February 16.
Around a week later he was found dead by herdsmen, stuffed into a sack of pineapples with his hands and legs bound, in a remote forest around a two-hour drive from the area.
Campbell Scott, 58, was in Kenya for a business conference before he was found dead last month
Campbell Scott’s body was found in a forest more than 60 miles away from Nairobi
CCTV captured Campbell Scott with a mystery man, who became a person of interest, but has since been ruled out as a suspect
Police believe he was held captive for days in a house in the Pipeline area of Nairobi before being killed. His body was then transported to Makongo Forest in Makueni County, where it was discovered on February 22.
Authorities suspect the killers may have been after Scott’s money but police are investigating whether they accessed his bank accounts before his murder.
A post-mortem examination conducted by Government Pathologist Dr. Richard Njoroge at a mortuary in Makueni last Thursday failed to determine the exact cause of death.
Though Scott had soft tissue injuries, officials deemed them too minor to be fatal. But local government officials had said the injuries sustained suggested Scott had been tortured before being killed.
This has led pathologists to collect samples for further tests at a government laboratory, prolonging the investigation.
Initially, police suspected that Scott had been strangled or hit with a blunt object, but forensic results have yet to confirm this.
In a recent twist in the mystery, however, Kenyan television reported Scott may not have been murdered.
NTV Tonight reported: ‘Sources close to the investigation said that Scott may not have been murdered, but rather may have suffered complications after consuming a performance enhancing pill.
Campbell Scott was staying at the JW Marriott Hotel for a conference
Scott, born in Dunfermline, Fife, Scotland, worked for American credit scoring firm Fico and was based out of its London office
‘He may have developed these complications while at Pipeline Estate in Nairobi, the last location he was seen alive.’
Toxicology tests are now being conducted, it is understood.
Scott, born in Dunfermline, Fife, Scotland, worked for American credit scoring firm Fico and was based out of its London office.
He was set to attend a conference at the JW Marriott Hotel and shortly after he arrived security camera footage captured him going to the nearby Havana Bar.
But, Kenyan press reported, he met a mystery man who became a person of interest to detectives. The following day he went back to the bar to meet him, and the mystery man booked a taxi.
Scott is then said to have entered the vehicle, and gone to the Pipeline estate with the man.
In a twist to the case, the taxi driver and a waiter who were arrested earlier have now been ruled out as suspects. Police now believe they were not involved in the murder and will instead be used as witnesses, according to The Star.
Scott’s body was finally identified at the Makueni County Referral Hospital on February 24, where it had been lying for two days.
His grieving family has been following the case closely as investigators work to uncover the full circumstances surrounding his death.
